Indiana Loses Jobs, Labor Force Shrinks In 2019

By BRANDON SMITH

Indiana finished 2019 with an unemployment rate at 3.2 percent – the fourth month in a row it’s been at that level.

That 3.2 percent unemployment rate has been the same since September. And the rate has only gotten worse in one month over the last year and a half.

But the state lost more than 3,200 jobs total in 2019. Hardest hit was the manufacturing sector, which shed 9,000 jobs. The sector with the largest share of job growth was the construction industry, while the government added more jobs in Indiana last year than any other sector.

Indiana’s labor force numbers were also troubling in 2019. The labor measures, not just people who have a job but also those actively looking for one. That means a shrinking labor force can be viewed as a sign of pessimism in the economy. And Indiana’s labor force shrank by nearly 14,000 people last year.